Ingredients
12 asparagus, stems removed & fine chopped
1 tsp rice bran oil
50 g butter
2 shallots, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
800 ml of vegetable stock
100 g of spinach
4 tbsp of crème fraîche
2 tbsp freshly chopped chives
SIDS SALT & PEPPER to taste
Directions
Prepare the asparagus by removing the hard stems (break them off) then finely chop the rest. (keep four of the asparagus heads for garnishing the soup)
Place a saucepan on the heat, add a little oil and the butter, then add the diced onion and garlic and sweat for 5 minutes on a low heat.
Add the asparagus and continue to sweat for another couple of minutes, add the vegetable stock bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add spinach and simmer for 2 minutes then remove from the heat then put into a blender and blitz in batches. Spinach always goes in last thing to make sure it retains a lovely green colour.
Once the soup is blended, put it through a sieve to remove any lumps, mix crème fraîche with the chopped chives and SIDS SALT & PEPPER to taste.
To serve, pour hot soup into the bowl, place a spoonful of the chive crème fraîche on top of the soup and the asparagus head on top of the crème fraîche.
